Actor Cho Jung-seok Says He Relates to Lead Character in Latest Film

The latest disaster film "Exit - Movie" is perhaps on its way to becoming this summer's biggest box office hit, as it has already drawn over 4 million viewers in eight days since its release on July 31.

Advertisement

The film's star, Cho Jung-seok, told the Chosun Ilbo that the virtue of the film lies in depicting everyday heroes who don't shine but commit to what they have to do in daily life.

"It tells you that if you do your best in whatever you do, it will eventually pay off", Jo said.

The film depicts people's attempts to escape and survive as poisonous gas descends on Seoul.

Jo plays a young unemployed man whose efforts to find a job end in failure every time. But drawing on the exceptional mountain-climbing skills he learned at a university club, he heroically rescues people trapped in a building covered in toxic gas.

"He may look like a loser without a job. He's far from a typical superhero character -- rather, he is the type of everyday hero we can find around us in ordinary life, and that's what's special about him", Jo said.

"I fully understand what he's going through", said Jo of the character, who gets rejected for one job after another. Jo himself made three unsuccessful attempts to enter university as a classical guitar major, before eventually studying film. "I got asked so many times, 'When will you get into university? When will we get to see you on TV and the big screen?" he recalled. But he denied being the "loser" type like his character in the film.

___________

"Exit - Movie" is directed by Lee Sang-geun, and features Cho Jung-seok, Lim Yoona, Go Doo-shim, Park In-hwan, Kim Ji-young, Kang Ki-young. Release date in Korea: 2019/07/31.